Online School & Homeschool in Kinshasa

Online school and international curriculum in Kinshasa

For Kinshasa families — the Cambridge and IB route at a fraction of the capital tier's fees, with French kept alongside.

Live online Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge A-Level, Pearson Edexcel International, IB Diploma Programme, and American Curriculum with Advanced Placement (AP) for Kinshasa families. Kinshasa is one of the largest cities in Africa and carries the country's political, banking, and corporate weight, alongside one of the biggest NGO, UN, and diplomatic communities on the continent. Its international schooling — the American school, the French lycée, the Belgian school, and a substantial private bilingual sector — is genuinely established and priced at the top of the local market. Under the loi-cadre of 2014 the State's obligations run to basic education, and private establishments operate under an agrément regime. Our clean default is supplementary: your school carries the enrolment, and we teach the Cambridge or IB track live alongside it.

Challenges Kinshasa families face

International school fees in Kinshasa sit at the top of the local market, beyond most Congolese professional families.
The NGO, UN, and diplomatic community turns over constantly, so children arrive and leave mid-curriculum.
French is the language of instruction, so an English-medium route is a genuine change rather than a variation.
Private establishments operate under an agrément regime — and Smartious is not an agréé Congolese establishment.
Time zone: Kinshasa runs WAT (UTC+1), two hours behind Nairobi EAT, fixed, with no daylight saving.

Why Kinshasa families choose Smartious

The tier's examinations at a professional family's budget: Live small-group Cambridge teaching from USD 5,076 a year against Kinshasa international fees at the top of the local market.
French kept alongside the English-medium core: Cambridge French runs beside the academic track, protecting Belgian and French university routes that Congolese families rely on.
Built for a community that rotates: NGO, UN, and diplomatic postings move constantly; the curriculum, teachers, and examination board stay constant across every move.
What we are, stated plainly: Private establishments here operate under an agrément regime. Smartious is not an agréé Congolese establishment — we work alongside your school.
An African school teaching African families: Nairobi-built and Nairobi-taught, serving families in 40+ countries.

Congolese education law is set by the Loi-cadre n° 14/004 of 11 February 2014 on national education, which fixes the fundamental principles in conformity with articles 42 to 45 of the Constitution. The loi-cadre guarantees a set of liberties that is unusually explicit for the region: the freedom to create, organise and attend an establishment of national education; the freedom of parents to place their child in a public or private school establishment; the freedom of parents to choose for their minor child the type of education corresponding to their convictions; and the freedom to disseminate established knowledge. Those are real and worth knowing — and they should not be over-read. The third is the familiar international-covenant formulation about choosing education consistent with one's convictions rather than a home-education right, and the first is framed around établissements, which require agrément: private establishments at pre-primary, primary, secondary and professional levels are approved following prior authorisation to open, against juridical, civic, financial, moral, pedagogical, material and environmental guarantees, with creation a concurrent competence of the central Minister and the provincial Governor. We are not aware of the loi-cadre establishing a parental home-education route, and a family whose plan turns on the point should confirm with the ministry responsible for national education. Two further notes: the Constitution provides for free primary education and the State's responsibility for basic education has been progressively implemented, with basic education a decentralised matter; and a proposal to modify and complete the loi-cadre was tabled in April 2026, which remains a pending proposal rather than law. Smartious is not an agréé Congolese establishment and works alongside your school.

Smartious delivers to Kinshasa families online; the live programme is complete without in-person supplementation.

Live online via Smartious LMS. Kinshasa sits two hours behind Nairobi with no daylight saving on either side, so late-afternoon Kinshasa classes fall in our early-evening block at a constant time every week of the year, with every session recorded.

Kinshasa is one of Africa's largest cities and the country's political, banking, and corporate capital, with one of the biggest NGO and diplomatic communities on the continent and an established international-school tier at premium fees. Kinshasa runs WAT (UTC+1), two hours behind Nairobi EAT, with no daylight saving.

Family situations we work with

NGO, UN, and diplomatic families on rotation.
Banking, telecoms, and corporate-sector families.
Mining-company head-office families based in the capital.
Congolese professional families outside the international tier's fees.
Families moving between Kinshasa, Brazzaville, Europe, and North America.
Students targeting Belgian, French, South African, UK, or North American universities.

Kinshasa communities and nearby areas

Gombe · Ngaliema · Limete · Kintambo · Mont Ngafula · N'djili · Brazzaville across the river

Common questions from Kinshasa families

Is homeschooling legal in the DRC?

The loi-cadre of 2014 guarantees notable parental liberties — including the freedom of parents to choose for their minor child the type of education corresponding to their convictions — but that is the familiar formulation about choosing education consistent with convictions rather than a home-education right, and the freedom to create or attend an establishment is framed around institutions that require agrément. We are not aware of an established parental home-education route and would tell any family whose plan depends on it to confirm with the ministry responsible for national education.

Is Smartious an agréé school in the DRC?

No, and we say so plainly. Private establishments here require agrément following prior authorisation to open. Smartious is an internationally accredited online school delivering from Nairobi and working alongside your Congolese school rather than replacing it.

Can our child keep French while studying in English?

Yes, and most of our Congolese families do. Cambridge French runs alongside the English-medium core, protecting the Belgian and French university routes that many families here are planning toward.

What are the class times like?

Kinshasa is two hours behind Nairobi and neither country observes daylight saving, so late-afternoon Kinshasa classes fall in our early-evening block at the same time every week of the year.

Guides for families in DR Congo

What parents say

Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Google from 130+ reviews. Read our Google reviews

“What I love most about Smartious is how they make learning enjoyable. The tutors use engaging methods that keep children interested throughout the lesson. My child now looks forward to studying instead of avoiding it.” — Google reviewer, Google review